The story
- Proto-Germanic · derived from*kuningaz“king”
- Proto-Slavic · derived from*kъ̏nędzь“prince”
- Old East Slavic · derived fromкънѧзь
- Russian · borrowed fromкнязь
- zle-ort · derived fromкнѧзь
- Ukrainian · borrowed fromкнязь
- Belarusian · borrowed fromкнязь
- English todayknez
From Belarusian князь (knjazʹ) and Ukrainian князь (knjazʹ) (from Old Ruthenian кнѧзь (knjazʹ)) and Russian князь (knjazʹ); all from Old East Slavic кънѧзь (kŭnęzĭ), кнѧзь (knęzĭ), from Proto-Slavic *kъ̏nędzь (“prince”), from earlier *kъnęgъ, by consensus ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz (“king”). Doublet of cyning and king.
Words from the same roots
Proto-Slavic*kъ̏nędzь all →
Knezevic
Proto-Germanic*kuningaz all →
king
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.